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Go thoughts, Feather. I miss playing Cal and Stanford. I wonder whether the experience that schools in the B1G before bringing in OBD, fuskies, UCLA and USC are having with the expanded conference as is would cause them to object to two more from the west coast.

Another vote for Open Range.

If expansion and a new alignment means only 2 schools are to be taken (without ND being a possibility) I say Stanford and Cal. This seems like a no-brainer to me. They are among THE finest private and public, respectively, schools in this land. I believe that their fan support will skyrocket with membership in the Big-10 after their few years of purgatory traveling to Clemson, SC. Gross. If ND is in the mix? ND and Stanford.

It may be a tired question to some, but these are important questions about the Playoffs. In the end, what the B1G wants is less SEC bias by the committee, and we can't count on that. So the less input by the committee, and more that is already agreed upon up front...the better. Perhaps this is Pettiti's way of asking for the world, and getting compromises? SEC gives up committee power, and B1G agrees to 16 teams?

Predictably, Jon Joseph presents some enticing arguments that provoked my mind to consider different directions for reply. That’s a good thing. It is exactly what I hoped for while writing the article, and more. Jon does not really ATFQ of which two schools the B1G should consider for expansion because he gives us six! And not two divisions, but three. I struggle to understand how three divisions with four cross-over games can ever be symmetrical. Of necessity, there is no way the teams will be playing comparable opponents in the cross-over games. The Socratic question to you, Jon, is: “How is that symmetrical?” Hence, is it fair? I have considered the flex schedule at the end of the regular season before, but Jon gave me a new twist that I will address in the next article. Hint, maybe there is a way for the B1G to achieve symmetry with only 18 teams and not expand. Thanks for that. Notre Dame is an obvious candidate for expansion. Charles and I have discussed this possibility and he believes that the Irish broadcasting deal with CBS will keep them independent. More to discuss there.

I love what Mike Whitty is proposing, as sometimes you try things, (like removing divisions) and then realize things were better the way they used to be. His proposed movement of teams every two years is quite interesting as well. And WHO would be the final two teams added to the Big-10? Great stuff...

Seems like the B1G talking point this off-season is going to be centered on getting an expanded playoff for the 2027 season. Much consternation has been made of Petiti being dead set on getting 24 teams, and a fixed number going to each conference. The SEC wants 16, and thought going to 9 conference games was the key to getting there. I know how most SEC fans feel, they feel like Sankey is getting pushed around. But in all reality, the SEC has gotten the benefit of the doubt with multiple years in the BCS, four team, and now twelve team eras. There were two all SEC BCS Title games, and one in the four team. The SEC got almost half the field of a twelve team field, and failed to beat another P4 team outside of each other. I know this is a tired question, but I would like to hear from my Duck friends if 24 is too big, or if 16 is good enough with a proposed automatics for each conference. Also, what to do with the G6 and Notre Dame. It's going to be a long wait till we get our football fix, but there's a lot going on right now to keep some topics alive.

I really like him in Colors as Officer Hodges, but this scene from Four Christmases was pretty funny.

Love this article and thanks for the velvet hammer. My great reply did not get a pass from you, Professor. I get it; been there and velvet-hammered before. For the most part, all hammering was well deserved. Chancing a deserved critique, might I suggest the following B1G add-ons, with the understanding that the next media deal will see B1G teams keeping the majority of money they earn in the postseason, and media revenue will be shared by eyes on the prize; how many people are watching you play ball. Cal, Stanford, CU, Utah, UNC, and Duke. (Notre Dame, if amenable, would take the place of one of these six teams. If ND agreed to go B1G, perhaps add UVA with ND.) Three eight-team divisions. Twenty-four-team playoff. Flex schedule the last two weeks of the regular season for playoff play-in games. Seven division games. Four cross-over games. One OOC game. PS - Two trips to the Eastern time zone in November of 2026 is cruel and unusual, but usual for OBD.

Recently on the FishDuck Forum there was a thread started by iubhounds titled “Having To Fly East For Games”. In the thread, I poked the bear and said, in effect, “there’s no evidence that travel and unbalanced schedules with random bye weeks impact the results of the games. OBD wins regardless of travel.” Jon Joseph wrote an outstanding reply that ... Is ‘Flexible Symmetry’ the Answer to Big-10 Scheduling?

Great minds think alike. Even though I'm not really much into westerns, Open Range is one of my favorite movies. Robert Duvall was great in it.

Tender Mercies

Being a cantankerous old man, I can most relate to Duvall in Secondhand Lions.

He was in many very good movies, if you like Open Range, then you have to like the Lonesome Dove mini series. I always laugh during the Open Range gunfight scene. Charley Waite’s (Costner) Colt revolver has a seemingly endless supply of ammo. Seems like he racks off 16 to 18 shots without reloading, fans about 8 to 9 rounds into one guy. I will generally rewatch it I have the time. Another good role was in the Great Santini. He definitely is an unlikeable character, but in line with his characters hard nosed style as a leader of men, he performs a selfless act of heroism at the end. A bit of an emotional rollercoaster.

Saw this in the theater when I was 12. Double bill w/Dirty Harry. Fifth avenue cinema in Portland. It never gets old. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMdf0rhbpI

Thanks, Charles. So many terrific movies - The Apostle was one of his best.

Open Range is pretty good. I like watching old movies from before my time. The practical sets, and massive cast to make Ben-Hur, and Wizard of Oz will always beat the CGI slop of today imo. As for Duval, I liked that movie he did with Paul Newman. It was a western, but I can't think of the name of it. There's that famous scene where Newman low blows Ted Cassidy. True Grit is a great movie as well. *My bad. That movie was with Robert Redford, not Robert Duval. It was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. We lost Robert Redford a few months ago, and now Robert Duval. RIP gentlemen.

He died at age 95, and has been in so many great roles. Most like his performance best in Apocalypse Now, or the Godfather series, which I can't disagree with. Others point to the Lonesome Dove series... I liked him best in the western, Open Range. Which is your favorite?

The USA women became the first team in Olympic history to record a shutout in their first four games. That includes a 5-0 win over Canada. Let's go USA!!! As for the USA men, they needed overtime to beat Sweden. But Sweden was one of only four teams in the field to have a roster of only NHL players. Canada almost lost their game today, needing a last minute goal to get to overtime. They lost their captain though (Sidney Crosby). Let's go USA!!! As for college basketball, it's getting close to March. With NIL, will we be seeing any Cinderella run? Saint Louis or undefeated Miami of Ohio. Will we get chalk like last year? Right now the Big 12 looks like the conference with two potential one seeds. They have four top ten teams in Iowa State, Houston, Arizona, and Kansas. Plus ranked BYU, Texas Tech(who has beaten Houston and Arizona).

USA Women vs. Canada Gold Medal Game - Thursday, February 22nd USA Network 3 EST/ Noon Pacific The USA Women's Team features Captain Hillary Knight, Minnesota, competing in her 5th Olympiad. Hillary is the Women's Hockey trailblazer. Her play for the Golden Gophers helped put Women's ice hockey on the college sports map. Twelve more B1G players will be on the ice for the Gold Medal game: Minnesota - Lee Stricklin, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Taylor Heise, and Abbey Murphy. Wisconsin - Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Sims, Laila Edwards, and Ava McNaughten Ohio State - Hannah Bilka, Joy Dunne Penn State - Tessa Janecke Disclosure - I have an additional reason to cheer on the USA. For the 8th time, Ms. AJ Mleczko will be the color commentator for NBC's broadcast of the Olympic Gold Medal game. AJ was an All-American player at Harvard and played on a USA Olympic Gold Medal team. AJ's Dad, Tom Mleczko, a/k/a 'Eye Chart', was my college roommate. --- Men's hockey semifinal games on Friday: USA vs. Slovakia/ Canada vs. Finland. So, Hosers, it's odds on for another Gold Medal game matchup between the Canucks and the Yanks on NBC - Sunday, 2/22, 8 AM EST/ 5 AM Pacific - 😧 Men's Hockey team - Michigan - Kevin Connor, Quinn Hughes, Dylan Larkin, and Zack Werenski Minnesota - Brock Faber - This guy definitely should have played for Faber College, where Knowledge is Good 😁 ... Roundball Heads Up - ESPN Saturday 6:30 PM EST/ 3:30 Pacific In a possible champ game preview, No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 Duke

New Seeding Format for College Baseball 2026 NCAA Championship - Play Ball! On3NCAA Baseball Tournament: New seeding format will alter F....

Sign is just a suggestion….looks good to me. Wood bridge in Oregon that has thousands cross…more surprised that it lasted this long. They better have a few extra batteries and blades for that sawzall, if that is all they are using. I like how the guy has his tools scattered all around. Apparently a lot easier to find.

At the dog park this morning.

2026 - Joel Klatt Loves LA? SC could be scary on O. UCLA, or Under Chesney, LA should improve. https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/college-football-stock-watch-why-usc-heading-right-direction-alabama-isnt